A Dance to Remember
by pearlsandpens
Summary: Princess Annabeth is invited to Prince Percy's coming of age birthday ball. There she meets the crew and begins to form friendships. A sudden snowstorm leaves the guests stuck at the palace. Friendships form, and romances develop in interesting ways.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there, I'm PearlsAndPens, and you obviously have good taste in stories cause ya clicked on this one! This is my first FanFiction ever, but I've been a fan of the site for a while now. So I'd DEFINITELY love some reviews! Kay, enjoy!**

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I knew it was going to be bad as soon as one of the maids said simply, "The king and queen request your presence in the atlas room straight away, your highness."

For one, I had told the maids and butlers and everyone else who worked at the palace to not call me "your highness", "princess", "miss", or anything else like that since about the time I could talk; just call me Annabeth. I've got a name for a reason.

The second reason was that Mom and Dad, a.k.a. the King and Queen of Greece, just simply "requested my presence" when they knew I probably wouldn't like what they were talking about.

But before that, I was having a pretty good day. The palace chefs had made banana chocolate chip waffles-my absolute favorite breakfast in the entire world. After that, I had gone to my personal dance studio. I want to be dancer, and, not to sound conceited or anything, but it's probably the best studio in the world and any dancer's dream. It's a huge room, and all the walls were mirrors. There's a single pale wood bar running along all the walls and my iPod dock was in the corner, and there were surround sound speakers somewhere in the walls. My parents had turned an empty storage room into this studio when I was about eleven. Mom insisted upon my learning dances such as ballet, tango, salsa, and ballroom. I had two instructors who I loved: Lana and Joel. I did an intense summer boot camp from June through August. I learned lots of ballroom dances such as waltz, fox trot, tango, quickstep, and lots more. They even taught me some extra dances Mom hadn't prescribed, including hip hop, my favorite and pretty much all I'd done since my summer dance boot camp was over. I'd really found a love for dance, and it was probably the best thing Mom had ever done for me.

I had just been doing my normal routine and practicing my new steps (I mostly do hip-hop on my own time, but I like all types of dancing, like waltz, or the salsa.) when one of Mom's personal maids, Kelsey, walked in with the news.

I sighed. I turned off the speakers, and took a gulp from my water bottle, brushing a stray strand of blonde hair out of my face that had come out of my haphazard, messy side-braid.

I was barefoot, like I usually am when I'm dancing in my studio, and I was in my regular "dance practice" clothes: a white flowy tank and black leggings with a lime green band at the top and two lines running down the side to the ankle. Even though I was hot from all I'd done already, I threw on my gray zip-up that said "FREE SPIRIT" running across the front in lime green. I zipped it halfway, thrust my feet into my Classic Grey Uggs and trudged to where my parents were.

"Annabeth," Mom greeted me with a smile.

"Hey Mom, what's up?" I asked. "Oh by the way I-"

"We'll talk about that later," she cut me off, not even listening. "But before that, why are you all sweaty and running around the palace in…gym attire?" she asked, looking at me unpleasantly.

"I was…dancing. I practice almost every day in my studio. You knew that, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So you've been practicing your ballroom dancing?" She inquired, clasping her hands together, looking pleased.

"Um...yeah," I lied.

"Fantastic! Did you hear that honey?" she asked Dad, who was over at the desk off to the side of the room.

"What?" he jolted. "Oh, yes, yes. That's good news." He turned his attention back to whatever he was doing.

"Why's it such great news?" I inquired, folding my arms.

"Next week, we're going to Atlantis-"

"On vacation? Cool, I love tropical places!" I cried.

"No, no, darling. We are not going on vacation. Perseus, the Prince of Atlantis, is coming of age. So of course, there is a ball held in his honor."

"Oh," was all I could say. I was kind of hoping for the vacation.

"You and I will be going to the dressmaker today to-"

"Wait, you're coming with me to the dressmaker?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. Why?"

"I-well, I just thought you'd send one of your assistants, like Lynn or Claudia or Nadine or Rhonda or Marie to go with me," I explained to her.

"This is a very special occasion," Mom replied. "As you know, Queen Sally and I used to be the best of friends when she used to be Lady Sally of Silver Lake. We've kept in touch ever since we were both wed. She has a son named Percy, as you already know. He's just your age." Mom paused.

I silently groaned, knowing exactly what was crossing her mind as she said that. She wants me to "court" Prince Percy. I bet her BFF Queen Sally does too. Why can't I just go out with whoever I feel like /whoever asks me out like all normal people? By normal, I mean not royalty. Lucky.

"It's a few days travel, so you'll need your ballgown, plus a few other dresses to wear on the ship. We're taking the Atlantis Royal Cruise Ship to get there, as it's the only means of getting to the island."

"Okay, fine," I grumbled. "Let's get this dress-making over with."

"Oh dear, we also have to get shoes and jewelry taken care of. Hopefully we'll be able to squeeze in possible hairstyle and possibly-" Mom's normally wise, proper, distinguished, elegant queen side had done a complete 180°, turning into a full-on fashion obsessed beauty queen.

This ball had better be worth it.

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**So, what did ya'll think? This first chapter may seem a little slow (or boring) to you, but TRUST me, I've already got the next chapter complete, and this chapter is just a buildup to the GOOD stuff. I needed to start somewhere, right? Next is more characters, more moments to capture, more heart flutters, promised. This second chapter should be up fairly soon, within a couple days, so stay tuned! Another thing, some may argue that Annabeth is somewhat OOC because of the fact that she is a dancer, but this is just a tool to help the story along and gives her opportunities with certain other people *wink wink* that wouldn't have been able to occur had she not had that. Please leave me a review, it would mean the world to me if you did! XO, PearlsAndPens**


	2. Chapter 2

**OHMYGOSH, first off, I am so SO blown away right now. I uploaded the first chapter at almost midnight last night, and I woke up to find 5 reviews! 5! This was just amazing for me, and all of them were so nice, telling me to update soon. THEN, I checked my email, and got 28 emails, yup, 28, telling me about all of you guys who added me to your favorite stories, reviewed, and story alerts. This was my first fanfic ever I almost started crying. I was really touched by all of you. So thank you all SO much. And THAT really motivated me to finish the final edits for chapter 2 and publish it right now. Without you guys, I wouldn't have been as motivated. Love each and every one of you! Alright, so this chapter's getting the ball rolling here, and everything will just start getting bigger and better! Enjoy!**

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I entered the ballroom just as a guard announced, "King Frederick and Queen Athena of Greece, and Princess Annabeth of Greece."

As we came down the stairs, there was a man and woman, and a boy probably around my age, standing at the foot of the staircase, shaking people's hands. I assumed they were the Queen Sally and King Poseidon of Atlantis, and the boy was Perseus.

"Athena!" The woman outstretched her gloved arms and my mom grabbed them in her own gloved hands after they had done their quick, customary curtsy.

"It is so good to see you, Sally!" Mom said. "We'll catch up later, yes?"

"Oh, of course," Queen Sally said.

Mom moved down the line and was greeted with a kiss on the hand from King Poseidon, as was custom.

I curtsied in front of Queen Sally. "Hello dear, you look positive lovely tonight!"

"Thank you very much, my queen," I responded, trying to show decorum.

She smiled, and I moved to greet King Poseidon, and then I came face-to-face to the Perseus guy.

I could feel Mom give me a nudge in the small of my back.

I gave a small smile, my eyes glued to the ground. I curtsied and he bowed. I started to move away, but he grabbed my arm.

"Wait," he said.

"What?" I asked, not caring about "decorum" at the moment.

"Can't I get your name?" he inquired.

"I'm Annabeth. Didn't you hear the guard?" Yep, all decorum is gone for the moment. Then again, there was an extra edge to me I'd never felt before.

"Um, I guess I…distracted. I'm Percy." He had a messy mop of dark black hair and deep green eyes.

"Well. It was nice to meet you, Percy," I responded flatly. I honestly didn't understand why I was acting like this, and apparently he didn't either.

He raised his eyebrows. "That's a pretty dress by the way."

"Oh. Thanks," I responded, rocking back and forth on my heels awkwardly.

"PERCY!" A high voice shrilled. Out of nowhere, a flash of red blazed by, practically knocking me over.

A redhead in a red, form-fitting dress attacked Percy with a huge bear hug. She had on red peep-toe pumps with a humongous heel and had an enormous red stone-gem thing surrounded by little red flowers in the front.

"Oh, uh, hey Rachel," Percy stammered, fighting for his balance, gripping the banister. I took that moment to leave.

As I was walking away, I could hear her high, annoying voice saying, "I missed you SO much! Have ya missed _me_?" Yep, she was one of _those_ girls.

I went over to the non-alcoholic drinks bar where there was a petite girl with satiny, shiny black hair standing next to a girl with spiky jet-black hair that featured a few various highlights of white and electric blue that matched her eyes.

"Hey," spiky-haired girl said to me. "We don't know you," she stated, as the other girl turned at me.

"Then we're pretty much one the same page," I replied, half-jokingly, half-confused.

"I'm Thalia. This is Silena," she told me, gesturing to the petite girl with the shiny hair.

"I'm Annabeth," I told her.

"I love your dress," Silena said.

"Thanks. You guys have awesome dresses, too." I meant it. Silena had on a dress with a black top that had sequins and a zebra-patterned skirt worn with a peep-toe pump in Malibu blue, which was one of the colors I had considered for my dress. Thalia was wearing a taffeta pick-up style dress in Burmese Ruby with black detailing and simply black pumps.

"Thanks, the main thing I hate about balls is being forced to wear dresses like this," Thalia replied. "They're so itchy sometimes. Give me a T-shirt and jeans any day."

I smiled back. I think I'm going to like these girls.

The DJ, well, he wasn't really a DJ, he was pretty much just some guy in a tux working for the palace that announced when a slow dance was coming up, said, "Okay, the time for our annual dance we have here in Atlantis is coming in just a few minutes."

"Ugh, great," Thalia groaned. "They never get tired of this, do they?"

"Ooh, look, look!" Silena whispered loudly, cocking her head in the direction of a boy with dark brown hair and brown eyes. "I think he's going to ask me to be his partner for this dance!"

"Wait, so _they_ have to ask _us_?" I asked.

"Yep," Thalia replied, popping the p.

"We can't ask them? We can't even dance with our friends?"

"That would be correct. It is way old-fashioned, I know."

"What if no one asks us?"

Silena giggled. "That would be_ so_ embarrassing." Thalia gave her a look, and she quickly said, "Well, you're not familiar with the people here, so don't be upset if somebody doesn't ask- oh look, here he comes!" Silena squealed, nudging Thalia excitedly.

"Hey, do you want to dance with me?" the boy asked.

Silena twirled a strand of her hair. "Sure, Charles!" she squeaked.

Charles outstretched his hand, and she grabbed it, and they made their way to where a group was forming smack in the middle of the dance floor.

Thalia smirked as they went off. She turned to me. "That was Charlie Beckendorf. But everyone just calls him Beckendorf. Silena only calls him Charles for whatever reason."

"Are they like, a thing then?" I asked curiously.

"Unofficially: yep, pretty much. Except they'll blush too much if you ask them about it or mention it in front of the two of them."

"Do you think someone's going to ask you?" I asked. "Not to be rude or anything, I was just wondering."

"Don't sweat it. I don't know, maybe Luke will ask me. We're just friends, and he probably doesn't have the guts to ask out a girl he doesn't know to dance, despite the fact that most girls are vying to dance with him almost as much as they are with Prince Percy. By them, I mean Rachel." Thalia retorted, rolling her eyes. "It's pathetic, really."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that girl Rachel practically dragging Percy to where the other boys and girls around our age, some a little older, were grouped.

Thalia caught my gaze, saying, "You met Rachel yet?"

"Um, not really, she just came over and hugged him as soon as I got there pretty much," I said simply.

"Everyone finds her really annoying. She's just "Lady Rachel", and she'll do anything to become a princess-thus, that scenario when she arrived- and eventually, a queen. That's a scary thought."

I laughed. "So, are they like dating or something?" I couldn't help myself. Why did I care anyway?

"Mm, it's kinda hard to tell sometimes. Percy and I are kinda close too, and I can tell he feels kinda smothered by Rachel-who, in her head, definitely thinks they're dating- but I feel like Percy would have done something about her. He's not really a pushover type. Maybe he likes her, but in small doses?" Thalia chuckled. "It's kinda weird."

"Hey, Thals," A boy with sandy hair and gorgeous blue eyes said, approaching us.

"Oh hey Luke, I was just telling Annabeth about you," Thalia said, grinning. So this was Luke.

"Oh," he said, glancing at me. "Should I be worried?"

"Nah," I said. "I'm Annabeth, by the way." I could feel my cheeks burning, and I ducked my head instinctively.

"Luke," he replied, giving me a smile.

"So, you're coming over here to invite me to dance, I'm guessing. Being as you're still too afraid to ask a girl you don't know to dance?" Thalia teased.

His glance darted towards me and then back to Thalia. Was there a hint of a blush on his cheeks, too? "No, I just don't want _you_ to be without a partner, Lady Thalia," was his comeback.

"Really, 'cause there's a guy headed right this way."

Sure enough, a boy with dark hair and eyes and olive skin said, "Hey, Thalia. Do you, like, want to dance or something?" He muttered, looking up at Thalia.

"See?" She replied to Luke, jerking her black-painted thumb towards him. The boy looked confused on whether this was a yes or no.

"Great, then who am I going to dance with?" Luke asked. Suddenly I felt invisible.

Thalia looked from Luke to me, me to Luke, and rolled her eyes. "Gee, I don't know, WORK IT OUT. Come on, Nico." She turned on her heel and marched toward the dance floor, her befuddled partner, aka Nico, trailing after her.

I rocked back and forth on my heels, fiddling with my bracelet, feeling awkward as Luke watched Thalia and Nico walk away.

Luke spun around. "Oh, hey, Annabeth, you're not already dancing with somebody, are you?"

I shook my head.

"Well, do you want to dance? As in, with me?"

I almost laughed. "I'm not going to lie; I thought you'd never ask." Whoa, was I acting _flirty_?

He gave me a huge smile, and, taking my hand, led me onto the dance floor. My heartbeat began to pick up.  
About ten seconds later, the music began to play. I was nervous, hoping not to mess up in front of Luke-and everybody else. We all moved into position so we made a giant circle. Atlantis's special song they play apparently to their special ballroom dance they have at coming of age balls and whatnot began.

_Somewhere, beyond the sea _

_Somewhere, waiting for me_

_My lover stands on golden sands_

_And watches the ships that go sailing_

"'Somewhere Beyond the Sea'" is kind of a traditional song for Atlantis, you know, with the whole 'sea' and 'oceanic' part. It's also Percy's favorite song," Luke whispered to me. He paused, then glanced away, then back to me. "You're a really good dancer, you know."

"Thanks, I've been practicing this," I shrugged. "I love to dance. It's kinda my favorite thing and what I'm best at."

_Somewhere, beyond the sea_

_She's there, watching for me_

_If I could fly like birds on high_

"The small switch is coming up, isn't it?" Luke asked. "I always forget."

I nodded quickly.

_Then straight to her heart, I'd go sailing _

Luke spun me, as did the other boys to the other girls, and we spun in opposite directions. He moved one place to his right, and I moved one place to my right, and a boy came face to face with me. He had curly brown hair and chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm Grover, he said.

"Annabeth," I replied. I looked around for Luke over his shoulder.

_It's far beyond the star  
It's near beyond the moon  
I know beyond a doubt_

_My heart will lead me there soon_

_We'll meet beyond the shore_

_We'll kiss just like before_

_Happy we'll be beyond the sea_

_And never again I'll go sailing_

There was what sounded like a trumpet or some musical instrument, and the pace of the music picked up.

Grover spun me, as the other guys spun the others girls, this time with more gusto and flair, taffeta and a rainbow of colors swirling through the air. After "twirling", the girls, including me, had moved three places to _our _right, while the guys had moved three spots from _their_ right, so we all ended up six places from our original partner.

I fell into place and a mess of jet-black hair almost fell into me, fumbling to gain balance and get into position without getting off-beat. The clumsy dancer looked up at me. It was Percy.

"Wow, fancy meeting you here," he joked.

I rolled my eyes, not in the mean way, but in the 'oh you're just so annoying but kind of funny' way.

The music slowed down a bit, and there were no lyrics, just instrumental, and the tune became sweeter and softer.

"Luke told me this was your favorite song," I said softly.

"Yeah, I like it a lot," he said. "I'm just not very good at-" His right hand fumbled from my waist as he looked down at his feet which were apparently dancing to a completely different dance, "-dancing." His whole expression turned into embarrassment and confusion.

"It's just a box step here, so I go forward while you step back, then we go a step to your right then I go back while you go forward, then we go to your left, making a square shape, see?" I instructed him. "Then we do a small spin."

He spun me out, and I spun back in, perfectly in sync with the rest of the dancers. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the parents looking on proudly.

_I know beyond a doubt  
My heart will lead me there soon  
_"Wow, that really worked, thanks," he exclaimed.

"Well, I love dancing and I do it all the time, so I guess it just becomes easier with practice," I told him._  
We'll meet beyond the shore  
We'll kiss just like before  
_"Hmm, I guess you're right. Rachel usually leads 'cause she knows what she's doing," he confided.

I didn't really know what to say in reply. Something about him saying her name just…irked me. I just looked away at the other dancers. Rachel was dancing Charlie Beckendorf, and Luke was dancing with Silena. I couldn't see who Thalia was dancing with.

_And happy we'll be beyond the sea_

_And never again I'll go sailing_

_No more sailing_

_So long, sailing, sailing, no more sailing_

_Goodbye, farewell, my friend, no more sailing_

_So long, sailing, no more sailing_

_No more, farewell_

_No more sailing_

The music and lyrics died down, and Percy and I broke apart. He grinned at me. "Thanks for the help. And thanks for coming to you know, this."

I shrugged. "Anytime."

Percy was about to say something when Rachel bounded out of nowhere. Again.

"PERCY! Ohmigosh, I wish we could have danced the whole dance together, wouldn't that have been FUN?" she squealed, grabbing his arm, and bobbing up and down on her horrid red heels. I could have sworn I saw a glare cross her face as we made eye contact for a split second. "Per-_CY_, come with me, 'kay? I wanna check out the photo booth I saw set up in the east side lounge."

Percy looked back at me. "Um, I gotta go, but we'll talk later?"

I gave him a weak smile and a small shrug. He must've taken that as a yes, because he then let himself be dragged away by Rachel who gave me a menacing look as she turned away.

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**Didja like it? Review, lemme know what you're thinking! You're all amazing, especially you all who took the time to review and let me know what you thought! I'll be doing shoutouts at the end of the next chapter. For any of you wondering, I tried getting the song Beyond the Sea as perfect as possible, and that ended up taking most of the time to this chapter. For those of you who want to hear the song while you're reading it so you can get a better sense of the dance (I literally played this 100 times trying to get the beat down pat to make it seem more real), this is the youtube link. It's actually really cool with the music. **_/watch?v=EchU-2S4SwA_** I'm going to leave links in my profile for the dresses the girls are wearing, so check it out if you're interested. I always love getting the visuals when it comes to the clothing in fanfics. Stay tuned! XO, PearlsAndPens**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Okay, due to many requests, here is the third chapter. Ooh, even I'm getting kinda excited! ;) Have fun!**

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"Annabeth!" Luke tapped me on the shoulder as I was taking a sip from my non-alcoholic (duh) "Atlantic cocktail", which was basically fruity with a hint of vanilla. "Have you seen the weather outside? It's nuts, there's at least four and a half feet of snow on the ground as we speak. And it's not stopping anytime soon, I can tell you that."

"Oh, great," I groaned. "That's going to make for a pleasant trip home." There had been snow since we'd arrived, but I hadn't paid much attention. But to be fair, there hadn't even been too much snow to alarm anyone. Was it seriously that bad?

"That's why I'm telling you. Word is that some of the families here can't make it home if the weather persists."

"Ships can still work just fine, right? I'm taking one back home," I told him, nervously running my hand through my pale blonde hair that matched a hue in Luke's perfect hair perfectly.

"I wouldn't know, it's all I heard. For your sake," he replied, looking into my eyes, making my eyes dart to the ground nervously, "I hope they do."

Do you want to go ask Percy with me?" I asked him, taking a step closer to him.

"Nah, I should go talk to Thalia about it. But let me know what he says, alright?" He took a few steps back, turned around, and went to look for Thalia.

I rubbed my arm nervously and looked around for Percy. _Probably somewhere with Rachel_, I thought bitterly. I set my glass down and tried to look occupied as I walked across the room solo, trying to find Prince Perseus and his annoying Lady Rachel. Where had they been headed to? The east side lounge to flounce around in a photobooth. Not that you could really move around in a photobooth but whatever.

A thick velvet curtain separated some side rooms from the main ballroom, and, after a lucky guess, I found what must be the east side lounge. It was a smallish carpeted room with a long L-shaped couch, an armchair, a table filled with snacks and dip, a popcorn maker in the corner, and in another corner – you guessed it – was a photobooth. It was obviously a room for the teenagers to hang out in and not bother the grownups.

Silena and Charlie were sitting on the couch close together, chatting about something I didn't overhear and Silena was showing him something on her white iPhone. Percy and Rachel had their backs turned to me, Rachel's arm looped through Percy's, and she was chattering about something loudly while Percy was filling up bags of popcorn at the popcorn maker. He filled four bags and set them on a tray. He turned around, took a few steps, and then saw me standing there awkwardly, Rachel still clinging to his arm.

"Hey, Annabeth!" He said to me, smiling. He set down the tray on the table in front of where Silena and Charlie were sitting, and then plopped down near them. Rachel sat down close to him on the end.

"Annie!" Rachel cried. "Don't be a stranger, take a _seat_!" she said, gesturing towards the other end of the loveseat, away from where the rest of the four of them were sitting.

I shrugged, and then walked over to that spot, at least two cushions from the rest of them. I could see Rachel smirking from her seat.

"Annabeth, now you just look like a loner. Can you move over a little, Silena?" He said. Silena scooted over to make a gap between where she and Percy were sitting big enough for me to squeeze. I smiled, and sat down next to Percy, and I could tell Rachel was trying hard not to glower.

Silena and Charles both took a bag of popcorn off the tray, as did Rachel. Percy looked at the tray then to me. "Oh, sorry, I didn't know you were here when we made it. You can take mine," he said.

"No, it's fine," I replied, rubbing my wrist.

"Well then, Rachel can you fill up a bag of popcorn for Annabeth?" Percy turned to her.

"Sure Percy!" Rachel hopped up, trotted over to the popcorn maker, and half-filled a bag, came back, practically tossing it towards me, and plopped down again, practically sitting on top of Percy this time.

"Thanks Rachel," I said quietly, taking a piece of popcorn out of the bag.

"Yeah, thanks, Rachel," Percy echoed.

She gave a Grinch-like smile. "Anything for my Percy," she said. Then she kissed Percy on the cheek and I think both Percy and I choked on our popcorn. Rachel just smiled her Grinch smile at me, adding a little girlish giggle towards Percy for emphasis.

Percy looked flustered, his eyes glued to the carpeting, his cheeks burning up. My eyes were glued to him and Rachel. Charlie chuckled from his seat, shaking his head amusedly. Silena remained quiet and emotionless, looking at the two a bit curiously.

Thalia and Nico burst in just then, breaking the awkward silence.

"Hey guys, what's goin' on?" Thalia said, obviously in a good mood.

"Why so cheery?" I asked.

"This place has the spinach dip. I've literally had like, twenty thousand chips smothered in it," Thalia said, smiling.

"Dang, why's everybody so quiet?" Nico piped up. I hadn't actually expected him to talk. He didn't really seem like a man of many words. He plopped down on the couch next to Charlie and Thalia followed.

"Ooh, popcorn. Don't mind if I do…this," Thalia said, grabbing a handful out of Charlie's and munching on it. Nico went to grab some too, but Charlie pulled it away, saying, "Dude, get your own."

Nico shrugged, and Thalia directed her attention to Percy. "So Luke told me that we're probably going to get snowed in here or something, weird right? It's Atlantis for crying out loud, when does a tropical island get a snowstorm?"

"Oh," Percy said. "Oh, oh yeah," he said, resuming his composure. "Mom said in a little while she's going to offer the guest quarters to anyone who needs to stay. The cruise ship captain that's supposed to be taking a lot of people back has refused, saying that it's too treacherous right now. I mean, like Thalia said, it is Atlantis. Preparing for a major snowstorm like this isn't necessarily a top priority for us. The last storm we had was in like, the 1800s."

"Interesting," Nico said, seeming positively uninterested. I was about to think he had no other facial expression. "So I guess that means I'm stuck here."

"Same, I think," Thalia scanned the room, "all of us here are, plus Luke."

"Grover too, and Piper too, I'm guessing," Percy said.

"Wait, Rachel," Charlie said, "Hasn't your family been staying at the island on business for the last four or five months?"

Rachel scowled. "Yeah, I guess, but it's sooo far away," she said.

There were eye rolls.

"I guess I should go talk to Mom and Dad so you guys can…" he said, then the rest of his words became mumbled as he set for the door. Rachel jumped up and trailed after, hurrying in her atrocious seven inch heels to catch up with him.

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It was close to midnight, and the more local guests or the ones that had private yachts that would brave the snow and ice were heading out. Queen Sally had had the guest quarters quickly, and had put the teenage girls in one room together, a long row of beds, nightstands, and a dresser each filled the room. There were also two bathroom and some makeup stands complete with a cushioned hair and lights on the mirror frame. I chose the only vacant bed left, and kicked off my shoes, washed off my makeup, and changed into a tank top, dorm shorts, and fuzzy socks. I curled up in my bed, tired from the day, not paying attention to what the other girls were doing.

Suddenly, a pillow thwacked my head. "Come on, are you seriously going to go SLEEP?" Thalia asked. "My sweet angel face, the night has only just begun! We're all going to billiard room. The boys are going to be there, too, of course. So change outta those jammies and into something comfy-cute! Andddd maybe put a little makeup back on. Just an eensy weensy bit of mascara, and some foundation, and some gloss should be mediocre enough."

"Whatever you say, Thalia," I groaned.

* * *

Thalia was right. There was a party going on in the billiards room. Silena opened the door and pranced right in. The boys were all sitting on the floor watching a sports game on TV or playing pool. Music was cranked up, and some Rihanna song was playing. Rachel was already there. Of course. I pushed that out of my mind, and sat next to Luke.

"Hey," I said to him intelligently.

"Hey," he said back, smiling. He looked kind of cute in grey sweatpants and blue t-shirt that complemented his eyes.

He and I started talking about the ball and the dancing and I told him about the dancing I do at home. My glance kept darting over to where Percy was. Why was I doing that?

All of a sudden, Percy got up quickly. He muttered some excuse like, "I'll be back in a second," and took towards the door. His expression confused and worried me.

Rachel jumped up. "I'll come with you, Percy!"

"NO," he said quickly.

Rachel's expression read hurt and confusion.

"No, I just, I gotta, I'm sorry," he said, and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Everyone resumed what they were doing, but I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened with Percy. Seven minutes ticked away, and he still wasn't back.

I excused myself from Luke, saying I had to use the ladies' room. I walked out into the hallway, looking around. I saw a door slightly ajar, and a light was turned on. I knew it was Percy.

I walked over, placed my hand on the knob, knocked quickly with the other hand, and turned it.

"Percy?"

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**Ahahaha a cliff-hanger! Didn't see that one coming, didja? I'm evil, aren't I? All the more reason to leave me your guesses (and ur reviews) in my review section! Let's see if some of you readers are mind-readers. XO, PearlsAndPens**


	4. Chapter 4

**Guess who's back with an awesome new fourth chapter? dis gurl! After what I'd like to officially label the worst of my life. I'm not being dramatic, it has been thee worst, and I can't even talk about it without crying. But opening my email and seeing all of you who reviewed, added alerts, and who read really warmed my heart, honestly. It really made me happy, and I want to thank you all for that, and especially to my faithful followers who always read and always have something positive to say. Now, away from the soap opera I call my life and onto what you all actually care about: the story. This was actually really fun to write, and there's a lot of plot that is unraveled and lots of questions answered, it's basically back story galore. I think it'll leave you all very satisfied, despite the fact I wrote it in like 20 minutes. It just happened, ya know? But before we get to that, I want to leave those shoutouts I promised (hehe) and respond to your reviews. (This took longer than writing the chapter, urgh. hehe love you guys!) **

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**Reviewers!**

**_Athena's gray owl:_ First reviewer! Thank you, and will do! :)**

**_Sapphire-Zebra_: Yeah, the parents can be kinda ridiculous when it comes to that. I thought it was funny too, and I'm glad at least someone else did :P**

**_BeccaH BoOk LuVeR_: thx!**

**_Avalongirl155:_ thanks, and kk!**

**_Blueshadow0803:_ as you wish**

**_Diddy2018:_ lol thats me in every fanfic i read where she somehow gets in the way of everything! but don't worry. im taking care of things. ;)**

**_GirlOnFire33:_ huh?**

**_Avalongirl155_: hey again! tankss and okey :)**

**_Miette in the Rain_: haters of rachel unite! thanks! and you'll just have to wait and see ;)**

**_EPICThunder_: Lady Rachel IS pretty intolerable...**

**_BeccaH -BoOk LuVe_R: awwie, and im writin' as fast i can!**

**_pomy1594_: i think ya said that last time :P**

**_BeccaH -BoOk LuVe_R: ahahaha yaass i warned you i was evil! lol **

**_Daughter of sea and wisdom:_ I'll see what I can do**

**_EPICThunder_: haha i think we all are :) **

**_Miette in the Rain_: awwie i'm not a meanie outside of writing, i swear! lol i enjoyed writing that part **

**_ichihime4eva:_ ahaha i know i just HAD to! umm most likely not, and YESSIR! :P**

**_Diddy2018:_ ohnoo everybody keeps saying that! but oh yes it was quite neccessary, you'll see. don't be sad, there's a new super duper chapter for you to read! and thank you for being that passionate about my fic :)**

**_The great book:_ UR awesome!**

**_pomy1594_: so what im getting from this is that you'd like me to continue? ;)**

**_YvelissaBlossom:_ awwie thank you! it's great getting feedback on my writing style. it's one of the reasons i started writing here. **

**_lauren7690:_ im glad you love it , and i surely will! **

**_Avalongirl55_: great, and that's the plan :)**

* * *

I walked out into the hallway, looking around. I saw a door slightly ajar, and a light was turned on. I just knew it was Percy.

I walked over, placed my hand on the knob, knocked quickly with the other hand, and turned it.

"Percy?"

My voice was soft, and I was feeling a bit tentative. After all, I barely knew him. I had pushed the door open just a tad enough for me to see inside.

Percy didn't hear, and he stood with his back to me, facing and old-looking record player. A familiar tune was playing, and he was walking around in an awkward pattern clumsily, watching his feet as they moved intently. The tune was _Somewhere Beyond the Sea_, and I put two and two together, realizing he was trying to do the dance. It was a little hard to tell with his "moves".

"Percy?" I said a little louder this time, pushing the door open wider. He spun around looking like a boy who had just been caught sneaking a cookie out of the cookie jar.

"Annabeth?" He looked at me in embarrassment and surprise. He spun around and stopped the record player.

"I'm, I'm sorry I shouldn't have bothered you I just saw you leave and-" I said hurriedly, feeling uncomfortable.

"No, i-it's fine. I was, uh, I just, I shouldn't have left everyone. It's my party anyway, I guess," he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets, not making eye contact.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say. "So, what exactly happened back there?"

"Ugh, it's kind of a long story."

"I'm a good listener."

He smiled. "Then take a seat," he replied, sitting down in armchair on the right side of the record player. I sat in the armchair on the opposite side of the record player, and our chairs faced each other.

"It's Rachel," he said. "She just- she's not who I remember her as, and it's killing me. We use to be really close when were kids, like five, six years old. Her parents were living here in Atlantis, and, since they're technically part of a royal bloodline, our families got to be close. She was a tomboy. I was just me. We were best friends. The closest thing I'd ever had to a friend anyway. That is, until I was like nine or ten and I met Nico and Charlie and Grover."

I nodded.

"Like I said she was a tomboy. Never cared if she had a smudge of dirt on her face or her hair was frizzy or about if she was dressed pretty. Then her family moved away. We never kept in touch, really. Then her family came back here about a year and a half ago. She was so…different. She was wearing heels and a skirt and a lacy top, and she was wearing makeup and the shiny lip stuff-"

"-Lip gloss," I explained.

"Yeah, that, and she _acted_ different, too. She wasn't behaving like herself. She was all hug-y and flirty and it was just _weird_. It was like two completely different people."

"How did you end up dating?" I asked inquisitively.

"When she and her family came back, our family got together and saw more of each other, and I could tell our parents were nudging us in that direction. They would make these little comments. Rachel loved it, though. I don't think she or her parents cared what I was like. I think my parents approved of her, and she wanted to be higher up in rank in the royalty system as much as her parents did, if not more. I just didn't feel like she cared about _me_. I felt like she was using me. But I've been so on-and-off about her ever since. I keep thinking that girl I knew is still there, but she's not. She's gone now, and she's replaced by just another flirty, self-absorbed, annoying girl that only wants to become a princess."

"And you two began dating…how?" I encouraged him to continue.

"It was never really official that we were dating or anything. She just kind of did what she always does, you know, what you've seen. And I put up with it because my parents were really happy when it all started. They approve of her. It's hard to get their approval. I'm always embarrassing them or doing something wrong. Tonight, when we danced I was totally messing up, and I know I embarrassed myself in front of them, and everyone, and you," he replied slowly.

"Well we can fix that," I said. "The whole Rachel thing, I think there are a lot of girls they'd approve of. I mean, parents tend to hone in on one girl they know and like, but they're open to other suitable people. This is a little embarrassing for me, but," I paused, looking up at Percy who looked at me encouragingly, "when they told me about the ball, I knew my mother wanted me to get to know you better for that type of reason, probably because she loves your mom and thinks you're 'suitable'. They're all kind of crazy. But I know if there was somebody else who was 'suitable', they'd probably be happy about that too. That's kind of what these coming of age balls are for, aren't they?"

He looked up at me, like he never thought of that before. "Yeah, yeah I guess so."

"Your parents won't be disappointed in you if you "court" somebody besides her, somebody you actually cared about. And as for the dancing…" I trailed off. I turned on the record player which began to play the familiar song I'd danced to earlier that night. "I can help with that," I finished with a mischievous smile. I grabbed his hand, and he stood up.

He put his hand on my waist, my hand on his shoulder, and our other hands together. "Okay," I said. "Step back, left-"

"My left or your left?" He asked worriedly, glancing at his shoes again, like he was afraid they'd morph into frogs and hop away.

"Your left," I assured him. "And don't look at your feet, it'll jut mess you up. Look at me." He did look up at me, and we made eye contact for a couple seconds before he looked away slightly. But he looked back at me in my eyes, and I smiled encouragingly.

I told him the next few steps, and we spun once, and, surprisingly, it went off without a hitch. "Good job!" I praised him.

"It helps to have a good teacher," he replied.

_It's far beyond the stars_

_It's near beyond the moon_

_I know beyond a doubt _

_My heart will lead me there soon_

"After _I'll go sailing, _there's that big spin," I reminded him.

_We'll meet beyond the shore_

_We'll kiss just like before_

This time I ducked my head a little, unsure why. I was the teacher; I was supposed to be the professional one who had it all under control. Percy and I were dancing pretty well now, besides an occasional "the _other _foot," we were doing better than we had been before.

_Happy we'll be beyond the sea_

_And never again I'll go sailing_

The music picked up like it always did. But for some reason, both Percy and I froze. We both stood there, just inches away from each other. His eyes were locked on mine. His face inched closer towards me. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The sound of the music faded to a murmur in my ears.

Instead of leaning in, I ducked my head, my faced turned away from him. I had wanted to kiss Percy. But I hadn't wanted to. I felt so conflicted; it felt like my heart was being pulled in two different directions.

A look of hurt flashed across Percy's face. But it was gone as fast as it had come. I wanted to say something, but no sound came out of my throat. He dropped his hand from my waist and took a step back, turning off the record player once again. I shut my eyes tightly, feeling horrible. I'd rejected him.

"Thanks for the lesson," Percy said. "I'm going to get a snack. The guys will probably be heading down to get a snack soon anyway, knowing them." He sounded somewhat chipper and nonchalant, like he had during the ball. He didn't mention the rejected kiss at all, pretending that moment between us never existed, that moment just a second ago where we almost kissed.

"O-okay." He didn't invite me to get a snack with him. He edged past me, and I think he wanted me to leave too. He wasn't being mean at all, he just… I don't know how to describe it. _I just really hurt him_.

I walked out the door past him. _I should've kissed him_, I thought. I wanted to. _I didn't want to_, I argued, shaking my head. After all, I barely knew him.

What have I done?

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**All of you were enraged by my cliffie from last chapter. It's great to see how passionate some of you guys are about the story, and you have no idea how much it means to me as the writer! Hope you loved this chapter as much as I love writing every word of the story so far. XO, PearlsAndPens**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys...so I'm so totally sorry for being completely MIA for like ever, but I've been really really really busy with my personal life. When I'm not, I've been fangirling One Direction, on Tumblr, reading PLL, or studying for big tests at school. But thank you for being patient with me, and I hope you love this chapter.**

* * *

_Thwack_. Apparently, hitting my face with a pillow was Thalia's new way of getting my attention. "Ugh, WHAT Thalia?" I grumbled, shielding my eyes from the ultraviolet rays hitting my cornea unpleasantly. _Dang, can somebody put some shades on that window or something?_

"Little Miss Grumpy-Pants, it's time for breakfast. All the parents had breakfast already in the main dining room. We're going to get food from the kitchen and eat in the lounge where we were last night." Thalia paused. "By the way, where did you go last night? I think Luke thought you were trying to get away from him or something." Thalia folded her arms. I finally looked up at her. She was wearing a long-sleeved Death to Barbie T-shirt, distressed jeans, and combat-style high tops. Even though she was ultra-casual, for some reason it just worked.

"No, no, I wasn't, I just-" I fumbled for an excuse. I couldn't exactly tell her I was dancing with Percy alone. It just didn't feel right.

Thalia interrupted, "Get dressed, and then tell me. I'm starving."

Silena was wearing a pink sweater with pearls, a plaid skirt and pink Uggs. Juniper was wearing a simple forest green tunic with brown leggings and riding boots. I chose a silvery-gray sweaterdress with a thick black belt with black houndstooth stirrup leggings and my favorite gray ankle booties. Rachel chose a tight red long-sleeved top, jeggings, a tall black boots with a three-inch heel.

While I was applying my makeup, I caught a snippet of a conversation between Thalia and Selena.

"Do you think I should give Calypso a call?" Selena asked Thalia.

"Yeah, she's probably so bummed she isn't here. But let's wait 'till breakfast and video chat her so everybody can talk to her."

"Who's Calypso?" I asked.

Thalia turned to me. "Oh, Calypso and her family are royal like the rest of us. She was invited to come to the ball last night but her family was meeting with another royal family in some other country. I don't really know the details. But we're all pretty close with her. She's really nice, you kind of remind me of her."

"Oh." I replied simply.

"Come on, let's go get breakfast," Juniper said, and we left.

On the other side of the palace, we stopped at the kitchen to pick up some of the breakfast food the kitchen staff had kindly laid out for us. I followed Thalia in the lounge we'd been hanging out in last night, bearing our plates heaped with waffles, berries, yogurt, croissants, every type of yummy breakfast food you can imagine.

I knew I was going to see Percy, and my heart thudded heavily inside my ribcage. Dread weighed down my heart like it was a rock. How was I going to face him? How would he feel? How did _I _feel? Would he ignore me, or pretend like it never happened? It had all happened so quick…

Thalia flung the door open and plopped down near Nico. Percy looked up at me, half-smiled, then looked back down at his plate of pancakes and shoved a forkful into his mouth. I half-smiled back, even though I knew he wasn't looking. The others were watching TV and chatting, and I sat next to Luke who was texting on the couch.

"Hey, Luke!" I said cheerily, pushing all my thoughts of Percy and last night out of my mind. It was Luke I liked, anyway.

"Hey, Annabeth," he replied distractedly, looking up from his phone to have a sip of coffee.

"What are we doing today?" I asked him, trying to stir up conversation.

"I don't know, Percy will probably know. Ask him," he said.

Like I was going to do _that_.

I shrugged, then, deciding he was too busy for a conversation, sat down next to Silena. I asked her what we were going to do, and she shrugged too.

"Charles, do you have any ideas on what we should do today?" Silena asked him, touching him lightly on the shoulder.

Nico cut in. "Dude, let's have a snowball fight outside."

That seemed like a good idea to everybody, including me, so it was decided. The girls decided we were too overdressed, and we got dressed into jeans and thermals, boots, and mittens and hats.

The grounds were huge, and covered with a thick layer of snow. Snow still fell, but softer than last night.

"HII-YAAAHHH!" a deep-voiced shriek came out of nowhere.

Silena squealed, and we ran away as snowballs were pelted in our direction.

"Come ON!" Thalia yelped, and we fumbled to gather up snowballs for ammo to fight back. Rachel decided to not get her Gucci gloves wet and just shrieked and giddily tried ducking out of the way any time a snowball came her way. Juniper was quiet, but made snowballs faster than any of us girls. She had good aim too, nailing Grover squarely in the cheek on the first try. Once in a while, the boys would throw snowballs at each other.

But the boys had more of an advantage, and we figured to split up into two teams: Me, Thalia, Percy, Luke, and Juniper against Nico, Grover, Rachel, Silena, and Charlie. Charlie was probably the best on their team, and hit one of us almost every time. Rachel was still prancing around, acting like she was on a "ski lodge, mountains, and cute boys"-type photo shoot for American Eagle. Grover was always tripping over his own feet, and Juniper was always trying to run over to their side to help him up, but always got there after he'd stood up. She'd always give him a hug, and we'd all roll our eyes.

The other team found a patch of really hard, cold, icy snow. We started getting bombarded with ice-balls, and they hurt like heck if they hit bare skin already red and pained from the frigid air.

I was packing together a good snowball I planned to aim at Charlie, to take him down and temporarily keeping him from attacking us. I crouched in the snow, and, unknowingly, my guard was down. I just began to stand up, and I brushed off my pants.

"ANNABETH WATCH OUT!" A voice yelled from out of nowhere. I whipped around to look. A monstrosity of an ice-ball was shooting through the air towards me. But then a figure flew at me from my left peripheral, knocking me over with great force into a snow bank.

"Oof," My voice sounded, and I was lying on my side, blinded by my snow-packed scarf that had somehow wrapped itself around my face when I was knocked onto the ground. I twisted my torso to turn and see how had knocked me over. A mess of snowy jet-black hair and deep green eyes came into blurry vision.

"Oh, god, Annabeth, sorry, I was just trying to save you from the-" He fumbled for words, looking embarrassed and worried.

"You must think-especially after last night- I'm just some-" He rolled off me, and gingerly grabbed my wrist and helped pull me up.

"No," I protested. "I saw that ice-ball coming; you saved me, I-thank you. I don't think you're…I think you're really sweet." It all poured out so fast.

"Really? Last night I, I don't know what I was thinking, I-"

"It's cool," I told him, giving him a reassuring smile, and brushing a clump of snow out of his hair. "I had fun." I squeezed his mitten-clad hands reassuringly.

"Me too," he said, his voice barely over a whisper.

"Annabeth, you okay?" Luke came running over.

For a second, I didn't want Luke there. I wanted those few seconds between just me and Percy to last just a little longer. Percy dropped our little hand-hold. I squeezed my eyes tightly for a split second regretfully. Why? I liked Luke. I liked him a lot. Why did I feel like that? My crush emotions were totally bipolar. One second I was crazy about Luke, the next minute, and my heart is fluttering from holding hands with Percy.

"Dude, you're a lot heavier than her," Luke told Percy. He turned to me. "You okay? You hit the ground kind of hard."

I glanced over at Percy, who had shoved his hands deep into his pockets, and was looking away. "Luke, I'm okay. He saved me from an ice-ball."

Luke put his arm around me. "Come on, why don't we take a break? You could probably use one."

I realized everyone around us had stopped throwing snowballs and were watching the scene curiously. Thalia, who hadn't talked this whole time, added, "Good idea, Luke. Let's all take a hot chocolate break."

Luke led me to the door, arm still around me. The others trickled behind us, pulling off their hats and gloves. I glanced back at Percy, who was still standing there, hands still shoved in his pockets, quickly glancing away from me and Luke. He thinks I like Luke. No, he knows I like Luke. Because I do like Luke, a lot. I wouldn't like Percy. Luke and I were a billion times more compatible than me and Percy could ever be. I wanted to be with Luke. But why, whenever I got Luke, I wanted Percy? I've always gotten myself in tangled webs, always wishing for what I couldn't have. I was never happy with what I had. But why do I always get so close, and then get pushed so far away?

It all felt complicated, and I knew it wouldn't be getting any easier.

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**Okay, how wuzzz that? Don't kill me, there wasn't a cliffie or anything. I considered it, but since I already had one previously and I've been MIA for like a month, I figured I'd better not better not for my own safety. ;) Also, was that a bit of hmm FORESHADOWING in the end? Hmmm... IF you're looking for some songs to set the mood, I have some good 1D that are perf for this chapter. **

**For Percy's POV: I Wish by One Direction**

**For Annabeth's POV: I Should've Kissed You by One Direction**

**On another note: This is a tad late, but did any of you check out the dress links I'd left in my profile? If so, did you think they fit the characters? Also, what did you think of this chapter? was it what you expected/did it go beyond your expectations? what are you hoping is going to happen? let me know what you're thinking by reviewing! remember, it's my biggest motivator if you're looking for another chapter real soon :) XO, PearlsAndPens**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sooo...Heeyyyy...PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I have been INSANELY BUSY with finals AND I had some INTENSE writer's block. I tried writing this chapter many times, but it didn't click until this morning. I had no idea where I was taking the rest of the story but now I have a much clearer picture. Blah blah blah you don't care. Here's the much awaited chapter.**

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Chapter 6

We had peeled off our hats, gloves, scarves and kicked off our boots caked with snow, and were sitting around a table drinking rich, warm hot chocolate made by the palace chefs. Thalia was clacking away on her MacBook Pro, apparently messaging Calypso who was having a problem with her video-chat, unable to establish a connection or something like that.

I was sitting uncomfortably between Luke and Percy, Thalia on Percy's other side. Rachel was sitting on Luke's other side, chatting to him about who cares what. Since she'd pretty much gotten the boot from Percy, she'd been looking for some other eligible guy to flirt with. Luke seemed pretty uninterested, but too polite to ignore her. That was one of the many things I liked about him. Percy and I were sitting there quietly, unsure what to make of the situation we were in.

"So Percy-" I began, the silence between us becoming too unbearable to ignore.

"GOT IT!" Thalia said excitedly. "Hey Calypso!" She said into the screen of her notebook.

Everyone shifted over to be able to see the screen. There sat a pretty girl our age, with a honey-colored braid off to the side. She had on what looked like an oversized off-the-shoulder teal cable-knit sweater. Her nails were perfectly trimmed and painted a platinum color.

"Hi guys," she said, smiling, giving a little wave. "Jeez, you guys really are snowed in there. Thalia could barely get enough Internet connection to get this video chat working." Her eyes roamed across the screen. She looked at me. "Hi, who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Annabeth," I said.

"Oh, cool. She looked toward Percy. "What up with you, birthday boy? Gettin' everybody trapped at your place, I'm not surprised, Perce'." She wasn't…flirting with him. Was she?

"Hey, watch it," Percy said back playfully.

"By the way, thanks for ditching us, Calypso," Luke said jokingly.

"Ugh, you guys KNOW I had no choice in the matter. Besides, I was trying to avoid Percy anyway," Calypso added with a little wink.

"Hey!" Percy protested.

My eyes narrowed, and then I blinked and tried to re-focus. I was being all paranoid and weird. Something about this Atlantis air must be messing with my head.

"Um guys I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back," I said quietly. Luke looked over and gave me a smile. I got up and walked out. I needed to process my thoughts.

What exactly happened with Percy? There was that, I don't know, _spark_ at the ball, then the dancing where he almost kissed me, and he blocked me from an iceball and there was that weird confusing short conversation we'd had. I still don't really know what we were even talking about, we were both kind of jittery.

Then there's Luke, who is really good looking and really nice and caring, he really cares about me. I'd fallen instantly for him. We both really liked each other and he was really cute and everything. He and Percy were really different. They were both such good guys.

But what was the deal between Percy and me? I think he likes me, but then he seems flirty with Calypso. Is that just how he is? He's just a flirt, and he's only flirting with me, and doesn't actually like me as much as Luke? I know Luke likes me, I mean, I'm almost positive. I like him a lot, too. Didn't I?

I reached for the door to the bathroom, but it opened up before I could. Mom walked out, to my surprise.

"Annabeth, honey! How is everything going, sweetheart?" She asked.

"Um, well we're having fun, we-" I said.

"Good. I'm sure you and Percy have been well acquainted by now?" That look in her eyes returned, and I fought the urge roll my eyes.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that. But I've also met-"

"Prince Percy is quite a charming young man, isn't he Annabeth?"

"I guess, but I've also met other people BESIDES Percy, you know," I told her.

"Mm?"

"Yeah, I've become friends with everyone like Thalia and Silena. I also met Luke, and he's really nice," I spilled out.

"Oh? Luke Castellan, son of Duke Hermes Castellan and Duchess Castellan? Yes, he seems like a rather nice boy." She sniffed. "I had a rather nice chat with his mother this morning. He and Percy seem to be good friends."

"Oh, that's great," I said, uninterestedly. "Well, I kinda have to go-" I tried to step around her to go into the bathroom but she stopped me.

"Just remember Annabeth, time goes very quickly. As inconveniencing as this snowstorm may be, I do think it shall give you a great chance to form relationships. This is prime-time for relationship formation, you know. I met your father when I was your age. Do get to know the boy better, as best you can before we leave," Mom replied.

"Yeah, I know," I mumbled, going into the marble bathroom. I stopped short. "Wait, which boy are you talking about?"

Mom was already halfway down the hall.

* * *

The girls and I all were all lounging around in our bedroom, killing time until dinner. The guys said they'd get some movies that we all could watch after.

Thalia was sprawled on her bed, reading the latest issue of _Punk Weekly_, Silena was organizing her makeup bags, as in multiple BAGS of eyeliner, lip-gloss, and various types of blush, Juniper was curled up in the bay window staring out at the falling snow, and Rachel was trying on various types of heels she'd brought with her.

I'd been lying on my bed trying to read, to no avail. I gave in. "Thalia, can I borrow your laptop?" I hadn't checked Facebook or my email since before we left for the ball.

"Sure," she replied, sliding over the sleeping laptop. I opened up Safari, and entered my username and password into Facebook.

Thalia looked over. "Add me, while you're at it."

There were 4 Friend requests and 2 Notification. The friend requests were from Grover, Nico, Luke, and Percy. Luke had written on my Timeline: "Hey Annabeth, I found you here on FB!" Percy had commented: "well obviously".

I giggled and liked Luke's post. I friend requested Thalia, Juniper, Silena, and Rachel. I clicked back to Percy's timeline. Before I could stop myself, I was going through photos. I don't even know what I was looking for but I guess I found it.

There was an album from a few months ago at Calypso's coming of age ball. Calypso looked gorgeous-sigh-and wore a beautiful floor-length gown any girl would die for. She wore a modest silver tiara on her head, with little rosebud-diamond detailing. She was surrounded by friends, boys and girls alike. I recognized a bunch of the boys and girls I'd seen at Percy's ball. I scrolled through some photos, and then stopped short.

On the screen was a picture of Calypso and Percy. They were sitting on the couch and Percy had his arm around her, and she was giving him one of those side-hugs. Calypso had captioned it "luv ya perce! 3" Underneath it, under like 7 billion 'likes', Percy had written: "love u 2 bday girl". That wasn't all. Underneath it, Silena had commented "couple of the year?" That comment had a bunch of likes too. Somebody I didn't know commented "omg u guys r so adorable together ;)".

What? Was this happening? So all the flirting I saw between him and Calypso wasn't actually my paranoia. He really did flirt with a lot of girls. This was happening. I couldn't believe it. Here I thought he really did like me. I guess he did, but no more than he liked any other girls. It wasn't like I was anything special to him. I was shell-shocked. I was also disappointed. In myself, to be honest. How could I have not seen this coming? I should have expected it. He was the rich son of the King and Queen of Atlantis. He was charming, good looking. How could girls not like him?

"Hey, can I see that for just a-" Thalia leaned over.

"WAIT!" I yelped. I minimized the window as quickly as I could. Thalia raised an eyebrow at me.

"Sorry," I said quietly. "I just-"

Thalia gave me the wave of the hand. "I don't care."

I sighed with relief and disappointment.

* * *

**What did ya think? If you're as disappointed as our little Annabeth, STAY TUNED! *Dun Dun DUUUNNNNNNNNNN***

**Since I love you my loyal readers Oh So Much, I'm making a summer's resolution: A new chapter every week. That's my resolution. Wanna help me stick to it? Here's how: Click that button and REVIEW! You know me: the more reviews I get, the more motivated I am! That's always why this chapter took so long. So, if ya want it really quick you can help me out by reviewing and telling me what you think. That helps the most out of anything. Okay, love you all! XO, PearlsAndPens**


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